So, you like clockwork steampunk jewelry? Know how to work metal pieces together, can rivet, solder and cut? How about gear harvesting? Say what?!

One of the biggest problems that steampunk enthusiasts face is the acquirement of gears. Sure you can buy them online, but they are soooo expensive, so why not find them yourself? The best places to look are at thrift shops, antique malls and small abandoned shops pushed in the very back of the district. No really its true, the dustier the better!

I found this little beauty

Abandoned Antique Metal Clock

in a large antique shop in San Francisco over the summer during a steampunk supplies trip, and have been having fun with it ever since. The first thing you do with any of these antique mantel clocks is to safely remove the glass enclosing the face and remove the hands. This is because once you attempt to remove the movement, if the hands are still in place, nothing will happen and you will be left yanking on the movement.

Once the hands and face are safely removed, place the clock on its face and go get your Dremel or some other cutting tool. Unlike so many other clocks, the movement on this baby is bolted to the encasement, making it impossible to remove the movement, short of cutting the whole thing out, it’s not going anywhere. The movement is bolted on all four corners so it will stay in place and each corner must be carefully cut through, (don’t forget your safety goggles, and a tarp!). Once the bolts are all cut, you can then safely remove the movement from the mantel frame. Don’t forget to have a pair of bolt cutters on hand because the movements are often held in place beyond the four bolts and a small sturdy bolt cutter is enough to cut the whole thing loose. Watch for the springs as they will sometimes come undone and pop out at you, another reason for the goggles and even safety gloves to protect from rusty cuts.

In the end though, the trouble is worth it as the movement is now free and ready to be torn apart! My next blog post will be exploring the safe ways of opening a clock movement.

Ever wondered what Thanksgiving might be like if a Steampunker put it together? Here are a number of great ideas for the Thanksgiving holidays so that you too can enjoy the festivities of a truely Steam Powered Thanksgiving.

As those of you who follow my postings know I, Jessica the Demolitionist of the blog, am a rather big follower of the Subculture Steampunk

(for those unfamiliar with the subculture please refer here)

Your submission will be presented after the party ends on the 20th! Here are the rules just to make sure we are all playing fair:

1. Steampunk Thanksgiving  inspired blog posts only.
2. Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog.
3. Do not enter links to advertise giveaways.
4. Let your social media groups know you have been linked up here

I will be gathering Links from now until the end of the day on November 20th. By entering your link, you are giving me permission to use any part or all of your post including pictures in a spotlight on Etsy Tips and Treasures. (Proper credit and links will be given to you, of course!)

Thanks for sharing!

Forging, forging sounds like a bad ass type of class right? Wrong, oh so wrong!

My second class that I attended for Art is You was a Forging 101 class taught by the very talented Australian artist and entrepreneur Keith Lo Bue. (You can visit his sight at www.lobue-art.com). Notice I leave out that he was a great teacher? there was a reason for that. Keith was clearly an exceptional Steampunk artists, his items were amazing but his teaching style was lacking. We spent maybe the first hour of a six hour class learning the basics of forging.

1. You buy some tire wire (this can be found for cheap at any hardware store by the boatloads)

2. Then you get a small anvil and hammer

3. Third you hit the metal on the anvil in a rapid tapping style in a manner that flattens the metal without leaving chips

4. Fourth you bend it to the shapes that you want

5. Repeat indefinately.

That is really the jist of what was taught, and if you wanted to learn more, say what to make out of the shapes you create, that was fine because for another $200 he had a wonderful tutorial video of ideas and projects. Along with his videos he also sold polishing papers, hammers, extra odds and ends and his own jewelry.

So besides making a few hundred dollars apart from class tuition he took in a rather nice haul from the class, while I learned how to flatten metal and make shapes…..still trying to find something to use Forging for.

So to sum it up…..Dremel class was awsome! Forging not so much.